Austrian Hockey League
(8 teams) Slovenia (1 team) (1 team) (1 team) (1 team) | champion = EC Red Bull Salzburg | most_champs = EC KAC (30) | ceo = Karl SafronKarl Safron neuer EBEL-Präsident | website = erstebankliga.at }} The Austrian Hockey League (German:Österreichische Eishockey-Liga), called the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga (English:Erste Bank Hockey League) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level ice hockey league in Austria. History The roots of the EBEL league go back to 1923 and various Championships, whose winner is officially recognized as the Austrian Champion. There was no Austrian competition in 1936, and between 1939 and 1945. During World War II, a number of Austrian teams competed in the German Ice Hockey Championship, which is why the EK Engelmann Wien and Vienna EV list German Championships in their history. The league exists in today's form since the 1965-66 season. Until 2005-06 the league consisted solely of Austrian teams. Since then the league has added teams from Slovenia (starting 2006-07 and 2007–08), Hungary (starting 2007-08), Croatia (starting 2009-10 season), and the Czech Republic (starting in 2011-12).http://www.eurohockey.com/article/628-znojmo-to-join-austrian-ebel.html The non-Austian teams are competing for the "EBEL Champion" title. Only Austrian teams in this league are additionally eligible for the "Austrian Champion" title. The league has had different sponsors, and the current naming rights have been held by "Sparkasse Bank" and its Erste Bank brand since the 2003-04 season. EBEL Playoffs All Erste Bank Eishockey Liga Playoffs have been won by Austrian teams. The best non-Austrian team result is the HDD Olimpija Ljubljana managing to get into the finals in 2007-08 season, losing the EBEL championship to EC Red Bull Salzburg. In 2013-14, Italy's Bolzano Foxes became the first non-Austrian team to win the EBEL title when they beat the Salzburg Red Bulls 3 games to 2 in their best-of-five final. Such success is not unheard of for an Italian outfit, but previous similar results took place in the Alpenliga and the Six Nations Tournament, standalone competitions whose postseason tournaments were distinct from the Austrian playoffs. Teams Austrian Champions * 1923 Wiener EV * 1924 Wiener EV * 1925 Wiener EV * 1926 Wiener EV * 1927 Wiener EV * 1928 Wiener EV * 1929 Wiener EV * 1930 Wiener EV * 1931 Wiener EV * 1932 Pötzleinsdorfer SK * 1933 Wiener EV * 1934 Klagenfurter * 1935 Klagenfurter * 1936 Not Played * 1937 Wiener EV * 1938 EK Engelmann * 1939-1945 Not played * 1946 EK Engelmann * 1947 Wiener EV * 1948 Wiener EV * 1949 Wiener EG * 1950 Wiener EG * 1951 Wiener EG * 1952 Klagenfurter * 1953 Innsbrucker EV * 1954 Innsbrucker EV * 1955 Klagenfurter * 1956 EK Engelmann * 1957 EK Engelmann * 1958 Innsbrucker EV * 1959 Innsbrucker EV * 1960 EC KAC * 1961 Innsbrucker EV * 1962 Wiener EV * 1963 Innsbrucker EV * 1964 EC KAC * 1965 EC KAC * 1966 EC KAC * 1967 EC KAC * 1968 EC KAC * 1969 EC KAC * 1970 EC KAC * 1971 EC KAC * 1972 EC KAC * 1973 EC KAC * 1974 EC KAC * 1975 ATSE Graz * 1976 EC KAC * 1977 EC KAC * 1978 ATSE Graz * 1979 EC KAC * 1980 EC KAC * 1981 Villacher SV * 1982 VEU Feldkirch * 1983 VEU Feldkirch * 1984 VEU Feldkirch * 1985 EC KAC * 1986 EC KAC * 1987 EC KAC * 1988 EC KAC * 1989 Innsbrucker EV * 1990 VEU Feldkirch * 1991 EC KAC * 1992 Villacher SV * 1993 Villacher SV * 1994 VEU Feldkirch * 1995 VEU Feldkirch * 1996 VEU Feldkirch * 1997 VEU Feldkirch * 1998 VEU Feldkirch * 1999 Villacher SV * 2000 EC KAC * 2001 EC KAC * 2002 Villacher SV * 2003 Black Wings Linz * 2004 EC KAC * 2005 Vienna Capitals * 2006 Villacher SV * 2007 Red Bull Salzburg * 2008 Red Bull Salzburg * 2009 EC KAC * 2010 Red Bull Salzburg * 2011 Red Bull Salzburg * 2012 Black Wings Linz * 2013 EC KAC * 2014 Red Bull Salzburg (EBEL title winner HC Bozen) * 2015 Red Bull Salzburg * 2016 Red Bull Salzburg bold - seasons in which league had teams outside Austria * - seasons in which the Austrian Champion didn't win the EBEL title References External links *Erste Bank Eishockey Liga (EBEL) *Austrian Hockey Association (ÖEHV) *Multilanguage forum on Austrian Hockey *Summary table in Hungarian at icehockey.hu *Information about Ice-hockey in Austria (German) Category:Ice hockey leagues